Photo Gallery: Sidestreet Scenes
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This little 3 story apartment house
is about 3 blocks up a hill, from Queens Blvd. It's on one of
several 64th Roads, scattered about Queens. Built just before
World War II, it had the distinction of being the nation's first
condominium building. I lived there from September 1967, to February
1980, when I booked out on my own and left the nest. Our apartment was a wierd one, purchased from the guy who built the building long before. He had combined three of the 2nd floor apartments. We bought two of them and the third was separated and rented out. Our apartment had two entrance doors, one of which was a false front, with a closet wall behind it. My bedroom was under and above the kitchens of neighbors. My desk was where the sink would've been, if the apartments were separated. Every now and then, I had to contend with leaks in my closet. A terrace of sorts was appended to one side of the building, connected to our living room, but it looked like a fire escape with no ladder. We had a 2nd bathroom in what was formerly a closet. A true watercloset!!! One day, the hot water knob came flying off the closet shower's wall, full blast. Before the super could cut off the hot water, the rampaging steam had melted the paint off the walls of the neighboring bedroom. I've never taken a shower since, without being aware of whether the hot water valve appeared tight or leaky. I've never trusted one since. The variety of 64th Roads is due to the constant interruptions of minor streets, like the many 64th Roads, by major highways, railroads and 10 lane secondary monsters like Queens Blvd. It is not fun to be a delivery person in Queens. More than one found us, only after scanning some of our street's namesake cousins first. |